Dream A Little Dream Of Me

by horizon

First published 9th of November, 2017

Entries for the "Last Dreams of Pony Island" epilogue contest.

If somehow you're reading this without having read The Last Dreams Of Pony Island, stop now and read that first. Otherwise, this will make no sense and thoroughly spoil that story!

The Last Dreams Of Pony Island told a tale of an Equestrian colony's last days and a hated merchant's disappearance by the docks. Back in 2015 I held a contest for entrants to piece together Myinnkyun's mysteries and provide the best explanation for what happened to Peridot (and the town). These are the collected submissions; I'm publishing it now because unpublished stories are no longer accessible.

Each chapter is a separate entry by a different author, narrating one proposed epilogue for Pony Island from the point of view of the individual who they decided was the one peering into the other residents' dreams. They were originally presented here anonymously and in a random order, for purposes of contest judging; after the competition was over I added each author's username to their chapter title.

A list of entrants, and more details, can be found at this blogpost here. The contest is long since over, though; this post has the winners.

1. The gems glitter like blood in the sand (Titanium Dragon)

Adagio Dazzle

The gems glitter like blood in the sand
Sparkling freedom, calling to me.

He told me they would only grow with discord
He laughed when he told us that
I heard they turned him to stone.
But according to the ponies who saw him
He’s still laughing.

I wonder if he thinks we’re going to help him?
Like anyone would be that stupid.

Almost as stupid as the ponies.
They didn’t even realize
There was a monster there
Until it was too late.

It was easy getting her to run.
I told her that they knew
That they had seen her
That they would hunt her
Unless she hid with the ponies.

I didn’t expect her to kill that bat
But that was easy, too.

When the other bat found her,
And heard about her princess
I told her that one of the other bats did it
To buy favor with the bonehead.
“I saw it all from the water,” I said,
And she believed me.

All they needed was one more spark.
It was too bad only that old pony
Was down by the docks.
She was always good for a fight.

It would have been better
If it was that singer
Who got Sonata to sing
But she might have seen
And never forgave me.

I need her.

Tonight, the gems glow.
There’s no escape for them.
No ships are coming.
Nothing but fighting.
And nightmares.

I heard that the other princess
Is weak from fighting her sister.
All that is left watching the ponies
Is some old unicorn
Whose beard drags on the ground.

They say he is a great wizard
But these stones are full
Equestria is full of strife
The bats are fighting the birds
And the boneheads.

And all I can do is laugh
And sing.

It will be easy.

2. My father / was a Night Guard (Everyday)

Hotspur

My father
was a Night Guard,
lost in the line of duty.
My mother
was a widow,
left alone to raise their only foal.

It was a Nocturne stallion
who left her
young and heartbroken.
It was a Nocturne foal
who trailed behind her
and caused ponies to stop
and whisper
with narrowed eyes.

My mother learned to resent Nocturnes.
I was no exception.

I was little more than a colt
when my mother
answered the call to Myinnkyun
for friendship,
money,
and in her eyes,
a fresh start.

It was the last time I had seen her
before I could get to Myinnkyun myself.

I had grown
to look just like my father.
My mother had grown
more bitter than I could imagine.

She still hated me
simply for what I was.
But I promised
that I would watch over her,
as a son should.

I looked just like my father.
Nopony would ever guess
that Peridot was my mother.

During the day,
she would treat me
as she treats any other Nocturne.
But at night,
I would do as Nightmares do
and visit her dreams.

One night,
her dream was strange.
It was quiet,
soft;
and she was floating,
drifting.

I decided to visit her in the morning.

I found her door was left open,
and her bed was made,
unused from the night before.

Peridot never made it home.

I rushed out
and sought my friend, Moonstruck,
to deliver the news
that Peridot was missing.

He asked me why I—
a Nocturne—
should be so worried about her.
And why,
for that matter,
should he care at all?

How could I explain
that the loathsome shrew
who made no secret
of her hatred towards Nocturnes
was my own mother?

He followed me
without complaint
until we found her
in the clear waters
off of the docks.

Swaddled in seaweed,
gently swaying
in the ebbing tide.
I had never seen her
so at peace.

Murmurs echoed
through the gathering crowd,
and already wild stories
about what happened
were starting to creep in.

The kelpie,
the Nocturne,
even the Mooken
were all under suspicion.

I have to act fast
if there is any hope
of uncovering the truth
of how my mother died.

I begin my search
with the dreams of
Nostalgia.
As a keeper of records,
I thought he might know,
but he merely echoes my doubts.

Maybe Andi Quote,
as the town gossip,
has knowledge to offer.
She’s spitting out the same lies
being fed to us all.

Perhaps I’m going about this
the wrong way.
The last time I had seen Peridot
outside one of her dreams
was in the common-house
two nights before.

Leitmotif had a view
of the entire common-house.
I remember the moment clearly
when my own mother
called me a freak to my face.

Cabotage seems more concerned
with matters of money
than the death
of his business associate.

Moonstruck has little interest
in uncovering the truth.
He is equally convinced
that the kelpie is responsible.

But I must warn him
of why he feels so drained
after a night spent with Littlemoth.

Andi Quote mentioned a sailor
kissing a kelpie.
It seems Sailcloth
can’t even convince himself
what he believes.

The kelpie, Sonata Dusk,
she is being blamed
and attacked
for something she did not do.
When I uncover the truth,
I will clear your name.

Maybe Majority Vote
has been given knowledge
not released to the public.
The opportunistic rat
wants to use her death
for his advantage.

Maybe his son, Spotlight,
has something to offer.
A Mooken outside our walls
just before Peridot’s death?

What were you doing there?
What brought you here, U Lowe Kene?
It seems to be your own vendetta;
not one against Myinnkyun.

I have not detected the dreams
of this Palei Hantu.
Likely too afraid
to even close their eyes.

What about that other guard,
Dawn Patrol?
Can it be true?
Equestria,
in upheaval?
Princess Luna,
banished to the moon?
I see now why
no boats have come to Myinnkyun.

I think back on Peridot
and what I now know
were her final moments.
Such peace,
such euphoria.
Almost like a dream.

I remember the fear
in Littlemoth’s eyes
at the news of Peridot’s disappearance.
I can sense her panic,
but even so,
I can’t allow her
to keep up her disguise.

I have seen Tommyrum
panhandling outside the common-house.
I doubt his usefulness,
but he’s crossed paths with Peridot,
and I am low on ideas.

Two unicorns
at half past midnight.
Peridot and…
Cabotage?

I think I understand.

The two did not like each other,
but they both relied on ships
for their income.
Cabotage had been expecting a boat,
so together they went to the docks,
in hopes that it finally arrived.

With no boat to be found,
they whiled away the time—
complaining of missing boats,
and taxes,
and drunkards,
as bitter ponies
are wont to do.

Cabotage left Peridot
to stew in her own bitterness,
but when she finally got up to leave,
between her age,
and her drunkenness,
she fell
straight off the docks.

The moon was absolutely
brilliant that night.
One might even mistake it
for the sun.

But I must be sure.

Peridot and Shooting Star
glared daggers at each other
that night in the common-house.
I did not want to suspect
a member of the Night Guard,
but there’s no harm
in visiting his dreams.

“You can sense me?”
“I’m not an enemy.
I’m only trying—”
“If you’re not going to help me—”
“Oh, you cannot trace me,
you say?
I’ll be on my way, then.”

I’m impressed
that he was able to detect me.
He lacked the skill, though,
to recognize who I was.
I wonder
if he’d think any less of me
if he knew.

Sunspot tends to be well-informed,
between his connections to the mayor
and to the guards.
He may have information of value.

He’s even more delusional
than Andi Quote and Sailcloth
put together.

He would start a war
with the kelpies and Mooken,
and use Peridot’s death
as justification?
Even worse,
he’s ready to bring
all of us down with him.

I have to stop this before it begins.

The kelpie
is innocent.
The Mooken
are uninvolved.
But if I don’t step in,
Peridot will be only the first
of countless other casualties.

All of the secrets
of the colony of Myinnkyun
will have to come to light.

Even my own.

Hidden in her desk,
tucked away in a drawer,
are the only kind words
she ever had for me.
The last will and testament
of my mother, Peridot.

3. The beach, her shore soaked (Coolmrfreeze)

Dawn Patrol

The beach, her shore soaked with a thin layer of fresh sea foam and blood; smells of smoke and saltwater purge the clean air "Colony gutted, not even corpses remain"...

This is the dream or ironically, nightmare, I continue to awake from every night that I live and try to pass as a guard in this goddess forsaken colony, yet I know not why. I may have found the reason she disappeared; at the cost of my own sanity, I fear for my life.

"There is murder and conspiracy afoot", said my dark princess not even a month ago, "you're here investigate and snuff it out."

I began my search and it took not long to find the conspiracies this island hid from sight as I arrived. She may look quaint Yet the air is laced with anticipation, the colonists antsy.

It was a hard search for the killer but I found them, using the best deduction possible. I pulled out of the mess and entangled lies, Majority Vote, he was not who he seemed; I noticed as I sifted through his dream, a recurring pattern; he gained so much from peridot loss of her life.

She was a thorn in his side since her and Andi "equaled a minority" together, oh but he wouldn't kill her, no he is a politician, so he paid Sunspot to finish her off so he wouldn't get his own hands dirty, and Sunspot hated her as most did, so he went along and agreed.

That fateful night Sunspot set a trap knowing her routine, he pushed her off her boat while she was taking inventory and in utter panic sabotaged her boat and sent it adrift, it was long gone before anypony could have known to stop it, although that is just theoretical, I truly believe that Sunspot was bribed to kill her and that is why Majority has "debts unpaid".

I wouldn't have known until I realized I could find out; using his thoughts I found, Majority could profit off her death in more ways than one by killing her; then the town could reclaim her house, he gets the money from that house to pay off Sunspot for carrying out the job or as he says, to pay for his "debts"; he used her death and her boat's disappearance to gain both votes and the others trust in his leadership.

There wasn't something right about it; he then uses the kelpie scare to encourage them to chase the kelpie. So then they lose scent of the truth , the Minotaur incident didn't help the loss; after the thoughts of peridot die down; the Minotaur takes the spotlight as now that he got rid of the thoughts about peridot fade so then he fires a guard and lower taxes to secure remaining votes, they almost got away with it cleanly, but since I came along; I've pieced this together, but I think they're onto me.

I never liked this island, it has a way of hiding truth; she was holding together a web of lies but the web was thinning long before I arrived, as tension thrives on a foundation of lies; this mystery brought me to uncover more than I would have liked, in my years as a nightmare, this is the worst case I've ever been on.

I found not only contradicting takes on murder but hidden lovers and deceit, it started with Moonstruck and Littlemoth who bedded and after, the mare, Littlemoth, fled to stay "pure" for a guard Pegasus who loved her, though obviously, she didn't feel the same, yet after all this, she blamed herself for peridot's death more than others; she knew she was suspect; I found no hard evidence that she was to blame though.

I also suspected cabotage at first as he was also a trader and could have killed her for her profit; that didn't make sense because then what happened to her boat, oh poor Leif, his music forced to attack, used not for beauty but malice stirred on by bad blood, but in the end I can't blame any on this island more than myself as I have only sat by and observed the events unfolding oblivious to the mounting of invasions by the Moonken.

But most of all it is the fear that now; that I got into Sunspot's dreams and he found me, he long do I have before he finds out it was me and he kills me too, I mean no one just about in this town will miss a nocturne; I'll be honest.

Oh but if that doesn't put enough icing on my cake, I fear I have gone too far, the colonists talk of full on war at dawn with the Minotaur; it's kill or be killed; that if anyone able bodied to fight; will fight, I send you this message my night mother as I fear for my life and for this settlement, for the boats are gone.

I send this for I may die fighting and clinging to my last breath of air before I can tell you my finding face to face, but please by the light of your moon let this message reach you; then the accused can take their rightful blame and the charges on innocent ponies can be reversed, I am a nightmare and it shall be known by me that though there are guilty ponies on this island, that I am one for I have doomed this colony and its inhabitants....

4. The old stallion calls me (Foehn)

Hotspur

The old stallion calls me
Out of fear of unrest,
and the unknown.

He needn’t have bothered;
The dream is restless
And I walk alone
In a land of strangers.

The Mooken
Dream of their goddess
Dayang Dayang Mangilai
And her sacred dangkan tree
Each blossom, they say, each leaf
Tells a story
Joined by so many
Vines and branches all tangled
together.
And they speak of their great
Kalamats
The most skilful, it is said
Could trace by moonlight
The ways and paths between
And in doing so,
Illuminate for themselves
The dreams of others

I am no god
Nor have I ever known a goddess
Save the Sun and Moon.
Yet dreams do not lie.

I behold the tree:
It is dead.

Its branches are gone
Its trunk is gone
And its roots are covered
In thorns of the thousand
Black roses that ensnared it,
Sapped it of its life,
And died themselves:
Their petals form a stygian carpet
Upon the grave.

There is another tree,
Sprouting from the
Broken limbs of the first
And it lives

And branch by branch
I can follow it
And trace its stories

I step closer and the dream

me

A bluebell droops over
The roses’ head
Leaning ever
Closer

I am a dedicated bull, Palei Hantu.
When I caught you bedding my brother
and you ran from his hut

the Myinn guard
who sat up startled
after you vaulted the rampart
shouted and flung his spear at me

Littlemoth
dances behind my eyelids. I can’t let them get
her
Can’t let them know because as soon as they do they’ll chase them and they’ll come after
her
and the others. I can’t stop the ships forever, but if I can find a moment alone with
her
I’ll flee with
her
As soon as I can get
her
alone

Majority refuses to answer
when we ask him why the
boats have stopped coming
I suspect something
is going on; that we are not
being told the truth or rather
Majority is not telling the truth

Where is the money going
no trade and yet he
refuses to lower the taxes
he demands a skeleton
crew (let’s face it: our
garrison is nearly empty
if one discounts the
drunks and tuft-ears)
needs not the funds
he’s been hiding he says
a ship’s come in down at the docks
I don’t believe him of course
but I’m not sleeping so where’s
the harm in confronting the
old sod

Silence
surrounds and
I merely wish
I had known
that that
was what
I wanted

I step away and the dream

me.

The tree stands still again
Its limbs singing
Of world brought to ruin
For the want of vengeance
And safe harbour;
In the name of love
And righteous suspicion
Born of greed;
And death born
Of greed
Giving birth to
Unfounded suspicion
In the name of unfounded
Hatred
Until all the blossoms one by one
Wilt and fall
In a flaky rain that
Covers the carpet of thorns
Upon which the tree rests

The rain

Perhaps Dayang Dayang Mangilai
was no goddess
But a pony
Condemned to
Watch
The mistakes of others
Powerless
To stop the fall of all she held dear
And I know, now
What great lament she cried
When she saw the
Very roots by which
Her tree grew and spread
Its limbs, were the agents
Of its long undoing
Peridot is dead and I
will not
mourn her passing.

And yet I wonder:
For this, will I
fall with them?

Dawn comes, and I must
Leave this dream for the other
Though my thoughts linger
On that final flower.
Know this, Majority:

There
will
yet
be
a
reckoning.

She stands
By the docks
Refusing to answer
The voice of the dangkan
And a cloudless sky.

Far above
The pale moon
Whispers:
“We will meet again
before you die.”

Author's Notes:

Dear author #4:
I hate you so much.
-horizon, finally done with the text formatting

5. Dreams can lie / I know this true (DeluxeMagnum69)

Nightmare

Dreams can lie
I know this true
For all this time,
I’ve been dreaming of you

The little colony sprouting up on my plate
I mean no harm, but I took the bait
All these dreams come and haunt me
Granting me a vision, very, dauntly

These murders are connected, you see?
When I look at them, they point towards me
I am not responsible of everything that’s happening
But all of this is quite truly maddening

I’m having trouble trying to solve this mystery
The more I look at them, I feel misery
This darkness I see is within us all
Much like these cold dungeon walls

The chills come around and trap, certainly
But you feel the clock count down from infinity
These aren’t comforting dreams of bliss
There’s got to be something that I have missed

Just like a whisper, there’s something unheard
In the morning, I hear a tweet from a little bird
These small details haunt me to the core
Even I, myself am puzzled by this lore

These dreams are riddles, swallowed beneath time
The dream of you perhaps, is the sign

Do you carry a scythe and watch from the shadows?
Does malice, dread, and trepidation come to and fro?

Beneath the hood, all I see is you
A shell of a pony that I once knew

6. I find there is no more need to stare (Grand_Moff_Pony)

Rosetta

My Dear Nostalgia,

I find there is no more need to stare.
The Isle of Myinn now reaches the height of folly.
Pony or nocturne, stallion or mare, guilty or innocent, the Mooken no longer care.
All are forfeit beneath the spear's first volley.
Ideas, idealists, innocence forever lost to plans so frail and faulty.
From your tainted quill, a claim that dreams cannot lie.
Such hubris, such arrogance, from muzzles held high and haughty.
In a sea of lies, the dream of Myinnkyun has died.

From darkened, twisted light, a fool made his dare,
And against all reason they charged, their demise already set in motion like an ill-fated trolley.
Hoof, horn and wing, barely any avoided the Mooken's jungle snare.
A quick charge, a quicker retreat; even chaos was not defeated so fully.
So few remained, little point would have been made with a tally.
Today was the final day, even the jaded could begin to see why.
The rampart fell and there was no time left to dally.
In a sea of lies, the dream of Myinnkyun has died.

A glass-eyed moon crushed a nascent affair,
While a majority went silent, blood-stained bits paying more debt than any soul could carry.
Some played, others drank, but against the jungle's reapers they had not a prayer.
Forged by fire and written in blood, to its sins the history of Myinnkyun will reluctantly marry,
And to the sands of time these tragic events will forever tarry.
But for Peridot I will cry.
For Peridot I will cry, and her story, her siren call, will reach over the seas to the furthest prairie.
In a sea of lies, the dream of Myinnkyun has died.

A dark scion did indeed visit you, and your secrets are known to this night fairy.
In this you were right, a dream cannot truly lie.
Your opening line is good, but I believe this to be a bit more catchy:
In a sea of lies, the dream of Myinnkyun has died.

Rosetta

7. I figgerured out murderpone (Zergling Drone #4853 aka KitsuneRisu)

Zergling Drone #4853

Dear MAs Bosspone

Hi is me your SIKRET ZERGLING SPAH

reproting from PONYWAH ISLAND

I figgerured out murderpone

ples listeen

THE CULPRET IS DARK TEMPAR

Dark tempar hiding in body of PONY CALLED TOMMYRUM

I give proofs nao

= – = -== = = -

PROOFS 1 ONE:

Protosx is smelly race

They ias always smell of dump poops

AND I AM ZERG

I know aboot the bad smelllllls!

And the Protosz is bad smelz ALL THE DAY EVERY DAY

I disguize mysef as Pone pone call LITTELMOFF

so dat I can smell every pone in village

by go to bed with them

Then I smell them while they are SLEEP.

I SLEEP WITH EVERYPONE

Tommyrum smells bad

LIKE OLD LEAF

AND TIGER WANG

he is protoz dark temprar.

PROOFZ 2TWO:

Protzoz EATING HABIT

Protozez do not has MOUTH

They cnanot put LOVELY CRICKET IN MOUTH

DELICIOUS CRIKET

They cnanot put LOVELY WORM IN MANBIBBLES

TASTY WORM

Protoz has no manbibble.

THEY EATING THE SUN AND LIGHTZ

And drinkz throgh skin.

Like DIRTY PLANT

THIS IS PROTZOZ BIOLOGGY

acoarding to wiki

TOAMYRUM

ALSWYAS SLEEPING IN DAY

IN THE SUN

ON STREETS

He is sleepeaeting

HE IS ALWAYS

LYING IN PUDDELS

ON HIS FAEC.

He neavar eats FOOD or PIGMEAT

Only has bottle to por water on his hed

Always dunkling head in WATER BARREL

He is protzreoz dork tmeprar.

-=--8——--565

PROOFS 3 THIREE:

PROTOSS BAD SPEKALING

MY WRITELING IS BAD

Bezucs I am zerg.

TOMMYRUM SPEKALING IS BAD

Bezuc he is Protzsoz.

Protarz SPEAK IN THE BRAIN NUTS

THey has no mouth

Cannot word!!!!!

TommYrum is not practiz the speak!

He SPEAK LIKE CRAZY BASTAD

NOPONE UNNERSTAND HIM

SunsPot pone always say to hims: “Spak clearar, you dumb dronken haff-twit!”

HE SPEK LIKE WET ORANGE

like failed badger

Becuz he no speak in life

He is protoz Daek templor.

=-3-2-1–-1444444–=

LAST NIET

I has the NIETMEAR

I am FRIGENTEN

they will FIND ZERGRNG

and KILL ME WIATH SPEAR

I am zergring in body of DIRTY HOOKER

ONE DAY THEY WILLL NOTICE TEH SLIME

I anwat to leave on BOAT

but BOAT IS NO HERRRRRRRRRRE.

Plz send boat.

=3=-=-==-=-002=0—

Murdrar of Pettydough is Tawmmyrum

Pettydough is High Temprar who is hunting dark temprar

So Dark temprar kill first

DARK TMERPRAR.

DARRRRRRRK TEMMMMMMPREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEARRRRRRRRRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrr

chehgkkgkgkkk

I am tierd of being a spah

too many pensises in the mouff.

8. "Honorable Li Kao." (Not_A_Hat)

Hotspur

“Honorable Li Kao.” I nodded to the Quilin as he painted me into his dream.

“Nightmare Hotspur.” He led me across a watercolor bridge with seven turnings, to a shady pagoda sketched above a sparkling pond. A pastel garden surrounded us, perched on a mountain spur overlooking a river valley. He tucked his brush behind his ear and poured tea for two as I sat. “To what do I owe this visit?”

“I'm here to report.” I produced a folder from under one leathery wing and placed it on the table.

He quirked a scaly eyebrow and smoothed his long moustache, leafing through the folio. “Poetry? Not exactly my forte, Hotspur.”

“What, aren't you a magistrate of the Jade Empire?” I smirked, baring one pointed fang. “Calligraphy, dancing, music; I imagined you well-cultured.”

“Calligraphy, perhaps.” He twirled his brush, half-listening. “Unfortunately, my job precludes much in the way of leisure… Surely you understand.”

“Well, no need to evaluate the artistic merit. It may look different from your dream-drawing, but that's a Songline, a complete topography of Myinnkyun's mental state.”

“Hmm.” He dropped the papers. “What has happened, in the space of two weeks, to merit such thoroughness?”

“Let me show you.”

He sipped his tea. “Very well.” He gave me a level glare, golden eyes glinting. “Sing for me, Hotspur.”

So I did.

I breathed long notes, twisting my ears for the Song's resonance. I felt him relinquish his dream, the garden dissolving in swirling, chaotic Noise. We hung for a moment in dissolution, surrounded by sparkling decay.

“I will sing for you,” I hummed, “the last dreams of pony island.”

I threw my mind back to the poems, grasping at wisps of meaning filtered through cobweb and moonbeam by the half-waking art of Nightmare. I twisted clues into strands that thrummed with the Dreamsong, pulling harmony from dissonance, and began a refrain:

golden eyes hiding among
flaring fans of leather wings
and the streaming arc of her mane

The tavern crackled to life around us, lamplight wavering with high contralto, tables popping with low notes. The two of us heard Leitmotif's music as a thin reflection, but the ponies danced with abandon, feathers and hooves and tails and manes flying, lost in revelry.

“It started with jealousy—fertile ground for a saboteur. Look.” I pointed to the lone outsider, a world-weary mare whose eyes burned with hatred for the Nocturne and Pegasus who anchored the dance. “Peridot.”

“They can flaunt it,”

I sang on.

<had not the Myinn guard
who sat up startled
after you vaulted the rampart>

The dream turned and we stood atop the wall. Peridot galloped desperately across the sand below.

“It continues with rage,” I said. “The Mooken anger easily, even asleep, and whispering in the ear of a nodding guard is simple enough. Dawn Patrol.” I waved to the nearby guard, who blinked alert at the commotion.

“The roster's public, and Spotlight's a drunk.” Dawn said to us with a shrug, seizing a spear. “Peridot's predictable, stupid, and a hypocrite besides, punishing the Nocturne for having what she can't. Still, this is better leverage than I hoped, to protect them—her.” The lucidity vanished from his eyes as he yelled, flinging the spear at the pursuing minotaur. He tackled Peridot as she crested the wall.

“Did you think nopony saw your excursions?” Dawn snarled in her ear. Peridot struggled, but he pinned her to the stone. “If you don't want me going to Sunspot, wait at the docks. I'll have conditions for my silence.” The guardhouse windows brightened, and he nearly flung her down the steps. She ran whimpering.

I chanted the next notes.

Andi's all caught up in the
drama over her murder and
I shouldn't have any trouble

The dream shifted to the harbor, silent but for the rhythm of the waves. Two silhouettes struggled at a pier's edge. We heard a soft thump. A muffled cry. A quiet splash. A battered body bubbling as it sank.

“And greed,” I continued, “played its part as well. Your dreams of murder sang clear, Majority Vote.”

“She always hated me, you know?” The politician glowered. “Even when we were married. Nothing could satisfy that old bag. I thought I'd missed my chance when that fish-kisser and his pet were gone, but perhaps fortune's still smiling, sending such a tempting substitute.” He grinned and shrugged. “A stampede victory isn't so different from a landslide. The ponies only need a little push.” He stalked off into the night.

I continued.

i know
they'll find her
any day now

There was twist of strangeness, and we stood before an open window. In the pre-dawn light, a slender Nocturne flitted out, landing catlike on the cobbles.

“But in the end, it all returns to fear and hate. Surely you understand what pulls this town apart, Littlemoth?” I asked the specter.

“Peridot couldn't keep it a secret forever. I panicked at how the ponies and natives might react, but I didn't imagine her dead! Dawn Patrol knew she slept with the Mooken. If anypony understood what happened, it would be him. But it was foolish to run off so carelessly, before hearing the rumors.” The graceful mare glanced back at the window, before turning to the empty harbor. “There's going to be trouble from both in and out, with the Nocturne caught in the middle. And these walls are a box-trap without the boats.” She sighed and hung her head. “This can't end well.”

The Songline diminished and faded, and the surrounding scenery crumbled to nothing.

“I suppose a ‘good ending’ is a matter of perspective.” Li Kao shrugged, a silhouette in the void. “Honestly, Hotspur?” The Qilin took up his brush, and re-formed his garden in broad strokes. “I hardly expected you to follow through. ”

“I didn't have much choice.” I grimaced. “Equestria promises only suspicion and fear for a Nightmare, now. In Qilin I'll be judged on my own merit; I'll be able to start anew—assuming I've passed your test.”

“With flying colors.” He nodded. “I will dispatch a boat tomorrow. As agreed, Qilin offers sanctuary to any refugees. And, Nightmare Hotspur, I would like to personally welcome you into the Quilinese Intelligence Corps. You have an auspicious start.”

“I got lucky.” I shook the offered hoof. “I'm no amateur, but destroying the Equestrian opium trade is beyond the scope of my usual assignments. That town was ready to burn. I just spurred it on.”

“Indeed.” He grinned. “But few could strike such a spark with a mere two bits.”